As busy parents, we can find our sense of anxiety increasing gradually throughout the day. If you wake up having had a terrible night’s sleep and have been on the go all day, it’s hardly a surprise that anxiety starts kicking in. This is why we need to learn how to manage anxiety when we are on the go. Let’s show you some approaches that could help you.
CBD
CBD in the form of a cannabinoid oral spray or tincture can help you to calm down instantly. A lot of people are using CBD for this very reason and having it in the easily accessible form of a spray or tincture can help you feel more relaxed to function at your best.
Naming What You Are Feeling
If you are feeling anxious while you are in the middle of the school run or you are stuck in traffic with noise all around, you naming that this is anxiety and not reality can help you disrupt the cycle. When you recognise what you are feeling is anxiety and isn’t real, this can form part of a thought-stopping technique which can halt any internalizing messaging that can heighten your sense of anxiety. When you name the sensation, it can help you step away. Remember; anxiety is not you!
Think About Something Humorous
You can either think about funny moments that you’ve seen on TV or times in your life when you laughed so hard you fell over can be amazing in reducing anxiety. If you cannot find something at the moment, you should always have something at the back of your mind. Visualisation is such an important tool that can take you out of your anxious thinking. If you pick a couple of funny instances ahead of time, you’ve always got something to fall back onto. Laughter will reduce the level of cortisol in the body, but it will also help you to expand and contract your muscles, which will reduce tension.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique
If you feel overwhelmed, this approach could work wonders if you pair it up with slow and deep breathing. The basics involve noting how many things you could either see, touch, listen to, smell, or taste. You can find out more about it here.
A Quick Burst of Exercise
Getting the heart rate up can be fantastic for reducing anxiety. If running is not your thing, you could do anything else, as long as it gets your heart rate up. When you’re doing this, remember to focus on your breathing.
Distraction
If you are struggling to take your focus away from anxiety, you may want to find a temporary distraction. Focusing on something that you really like can break the cycle of anxious thoughts.
When we are trying to manage the stresses of life, it can certainly feel like we have a lot to contend with. But anxiety is not who we are. If you experience it a lot, people may believe it is part of who you are, but this is why the right techniques will make a massive difference.
